Baptist Press - FIRST-PERSON: The riches of integrity

from bpnews.net
Baptist Press - FIRST-PERSON: The riches of integrity - News with a Christian Perspective:

"Concerning legalized gambling, longtime news anchor Walter Cronkite once commented, "A nation once built on a work ethic embraces the belief that it's possible to get something for nothing." Recent studies prove Cronkite's observation to be correct. A poll conducted in 1999 by the nonprofit Consumer Federation and the financial services firm Primerica revealed that 51 percent of people in households with incomes of $35,000 or less are firmly convinced they have a better chance of becoming financially secure by investing in a lottery than by any other means.

It is clear that the long-term effect of the government sanctioning any activity is the attitude citizens eventually adopt toward the said activity. The killing of the unborn, once considered reprehensible to a majority of Americans, is now approved by approximately half of the population. Similarly, gambling once frowned upon, is now accepted and embraced."

Once upon a time churches in America took firm principled stands against what they deemed were moral wrongs. Pastors took the lead and spoke out because they believed activities like abortion and gambling were not only inherently wrong, but they also understood the implications of the state legitimizing a morally subversive activity. In the short term, individuals would be damaged, but in the long term it would be all of society that would suffer.

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